Suggested changes so far:second set of curved stairs wider (agree)more room in the head for people (agree)make a platform on the shoulder for observation (agree)wider base (?)climbing wall (auto-belay $$$ or padding $)rigging point(s) for aerialist(s) (waiting for architect to weigh in)interior jumpy area with those little balls to fall into (I am really liking this idea, although I hate the idea of having to empty it before burning. More work!)interior climbing area / platform scaffolding with portholes for observationinterior camera obscura (drill a series of holes to project the playa inside...I like this idea too)bright red eyes at nightCatacombs in the basefire poles to slide down ( more stuff to haul off )

Love it. I think I am ready to upgrade to helping build some art. If you can find room for a helper or two I would be honored and grateful to be able to help screw or nail stuff together. I have limited standing, walking, and climbing ability but will be able to give it my all in other ways. I am willing to dedicate 2 nights for security as well and have a nice menacing look that would deter would be early burners. I want Thurs night free though if Simon rly does burn a big fawkin dome.

Second request for a slide. The newest design (it is still in development, tweaks.) has catacombs under the platform with stairs leading up, but I need the architect to to get back from his vacation and straighten me out on some feasibility and design. The problem I have with a slide is of course death, but that threat can be mitigated. The two constraints are: constructing it out of something that is either easily removed before burning, or is burnable (my choice), and placement. I can see it made from very well waxed,"Criscoed" and "Bacon Greased" hardwood ply, and it is simply sloped and the ply is ship-lapped, with sides a bit like a luge, but then what do you do, provide a bunch of those shitty snow disks for folks? At a certain point, the wax and goop wears off, and you will have many sparkle ponies mussing their finery. I don't really want the piece to actually help people into the afterlife. It might work on the inside, and it spits you out somewhere on the side of the platform onto the playa. Maybe someone else can contribute a mural that looks like the New Jersey turnpike and set it up at the exit. Rename the piece "Being Larry Harvey". I like it. Just riffing here. Actually, the slide, Anubis, rebirth, fertility, a chute, hmmmm.

Last edited by chiefdanfox on Fri Dec 02, 2011 10:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

What about two stairways in a helix so that people can go up one and then down the other. It would relieve congestion quite a bit even though the structure is already quite large. It could even be a rail in the middle that separates the directions.

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

BBadger wrote:What about two stairways in a helix so that people can go up one and then down the other. It would relieve congestion quite a bit even though the structure is already quite large. It could even be a rail in the middle that separates the directions.

I am hoping that by leaving it accessible 24/7 the congestion is mitigated. The stairs are about 30" wide, and like many spiral staircases, the inside step width on the second flight is uncomfortably small. To allow for a reasonable pass on either side (30") and a reasonable stair width (30") and holding the platform to 16' wide (2 sheets of plywood, and thinking in terms of trucking constraints...width 8', height 8 1/2') there is not really enough room for another set of stairs, without a complete and fundamental redesign. Part of the idea is to have people shimmy by each other from time to time, but I would not say the design is "finished", and I am still toying ways to improve or enhance ingress and egress. Bob's idea of a fire pole is actually being kicked around. Not necessarily the way I showed it, but I am thinking about it, where to place it so it works with the design, and in an area where folks can have a landing zone that is not next to a 6' drop. Again, I don't want a lot of haul off, and a large fire pole and its attachment hardware adds to that, and probably adds a significant cost, and at least two man-days of labor (X 2 on and off playa). There are a lot of hurdles on the fire pole track, but having a pole on something at burning man often results in other types of artistic expression.